2012 Volkswagen Beetle Turbo

VW's ubiquitous 2.0-liter turbo four, shared with the GTI, continues to charm us with its smooth engine note and linear power delivery.

The first words scratched in our notebook were "Wow, was this car engineered by Mercedes?" Ignoring the Beetle's 1980s-resolution instrument cluster LCD and cheapo sound system, its vintage cabin looks and feels a class more expensive than the other cars'.

That sophistication is even more evident in the driving experience. The first thing you notice? Quiet. The Hyundai's powertrain is neither sufficiently isolated nor refined; the Mini's is refined, but not isolated. The Volkswagen is both—the sounds you hear are muted and pleasant. VW's ubiquitous 2.0-liter turbo four, shared with the GTI, continues to charm us with its smooth engine note and linear power delivery.

2012 Volkswagen Beetle Turbo

There's a different powertrain philosophy here—the 2.0-liter VW motor is significantly larger than the other cars' 1.6-liter units, and thus requires less boost to reach 200 hp. Despite using a simpler single-scroll turbocharger, the Beetle has less perceived turbo lag. The extra displacement extracts a penalty on EPA fuel-economy ratings but not in realworld driving, where the VW actually used the least fuel of this group.

The Beetle's grown-up nature extends to the soft, well-controlled ride. Impacts are quiet, and neither the vehicle's path nor the interior materials seem disturbed by casserole-dish-sized potholes. The thin-rimmed, retro-styled steering wheel doesn't serve up quite as much information as the Mini's tiller. Still, the steering is so accurate and filters out torque steer so well that we unanimously judged it the best of the bunch. In typical Volkswagen fashion, the brakes feel great until you really use them, and then the pedal turns to oatmeal.

2012 Volkswagen Beetle Turbo

After a morning of pummeling the three cars on twisty roads, we spent our lunch stop figuring out how we'd explain that we preferred what we assumed was the slowest car (the Beetle has the least favorable power-to-weight ratio) with the softest suspension (the Beetle Turbo wears springs, shocks, and anti-roll bars considerably softer than a GTI's) Boy, were we shocked when we got to the test track and watched the Beetle fling itself around the skidpad more quickly than the Mini. More impressive, despite body roll so pronounced you'd expect a TILT light to illuminate, the retro-'Dub trailed the Veloster by only 0.01g. Remember the Veloster, the gray car wearing summer-only supercar shoes? The Beetle is fitted with pedestrian all-season tires. (Sadly, their additional width pays no dividends in straightline grip, so braking performance trailed far behind the others.)

2012 Volkswagen Beetle Turbo

That handling performance is even more impressive given that the VW's stability control can't be disabled. Acceleration and slalom performance would have been even better otherwise. In fact, we had been fully prepared to dismiss the Beetle's chances of being a performanceoriented car because of that missing button, but it was surprisingly fun.

Crucially, i t positively shone in the everyday driving role. The Beetle's shape is just as much a matter of taste as that of the other two cars, but VW did a fantastic job of reinterpreting the world's first people's car without the flowery happiness that afflicted the previous model. The interior offers huge headroom, the most usable cargo hold of the bunch, and the best outward visibility. It's also by far the quietest and has the nicest, most entertaining gearbox. No gimmicks here—even the triple-gauge cluster provides useful information, including boost and oil-temperature displays, both of which were missing in the Hyundai and Mini.

2012 Volkswagen Beetle Turbo

Would we prefer a GTI? Yes. We're fans of its well-bolstered seats and the availability of two separate rear doors. But we can't blame someone who buys a Beetle Turbo instead. The Beetle's shape sacrifices precious little practicality compared with a GTI, it drives nearly as well, and it doesn't cost significantly more. Even if you recoil at the Beetle's styling, it's hard to fault the car's fun/function compromise.

A Part of Hearst Digital Media
Road & Track participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.